Hurlers moving forward in rehab process

By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Reds reliever Jonathan Broxton's second spring game was not as smooth as his first. Broxton pitched a scoreless fifth inning against the Royals on Friday, but allowed a one-out double followed by back-to-back walks. He benefited when Alcides Escobar was thrown out at third base stretching for a triple.

"I felt fine. I am just everywhere right now," said Broxton, who is trying to return from August surgery to repair a torn flexor mass tendon in his right forearm.

Broxton's first outing on Monday was a brief eight-pitch -- all fastballs -- appearance against the Indians. This time, he said he threw two sliders and a curveball.

The Reds expect Broxton to begin the season on the disabled list.

"I still have to get where I can throw my fastball," Broxton said. "I also have to get somewhat of a feel for my breaking ball. I went out there and threw some heaters and I just fell into a hole ... and I just couldn't find it right there. But I needed that so I could make up for those eight pitches the last time."

In other injury news, left-handed reliever Sean Marshall, also expected to begin the regular season on the DL because of a sore shoulder, had a second successful bullpen session on Thursday.

"He's been feeling great," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "It's the most optimistic I know I've been in regards to Sean and his shoulder issues dating back to this time last year. Even when he was activated at the end of last season and pitched for us and pitched very, very well, I didn't feel like he was at maximum strength at that time."

Starting pitcher Mat Latos, who has been working back from Feb. 14 left knee surgery that repaired torn meniscus cartilage, will make his second spring start in a Minor League game on Monday.

Schumaker's hustle leads to injured left shoulder

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds are hoping to get good news after another injury to one of their players. Utility player Skip Schumaker was forced to leave Friday's 9-3 win over the Royals in the seventh inning with a left shoulder injury.

Schumaker was playing left field when Angel Franco lined a drive to left-center field, where Schumaker unsuccessfully attempted to dive for the ball and stayed down after it got past him and went to the wall.

"Initially, we thought he was staying down so [center fielder Chris] Heisey would have a clear path to throw the ball in," Reds manager Bryan Price said. When we saw Heisey wave us out there, we knew it was more than that."

Schumaker, who underwent tests on his shoulder, signed a two-year, $5 million contract during the offseason as a free agent.

Price had no problem with Schumaker being aggressive on the play.

"The thing is you want your guys in a situation like that to make every effort to keep that ball from going into the gap, and he did that," Price said. "We don't want guys diving into the wall or full speed jumping into the seats, but laying out for a ball like that should be consistent with what we do with all of our players. There is no doubt that Skip is hard-nosed and puts everything out there type of guy. We expect nothing less from him."

Bailey expected to pitch in Minor League game

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Reds pitcher Homer Bailey is on track to start in a Minor League game on Sunday after he threw 25 pitches Friday morning in a bullpen session. Bailey has been dealing with a strained right groin that caused him to miss one start.

"It went pretty good," Bailey said. "I feel confident for Sunday. If everything goes good Sunday, which it should, I should stay on track to make my first start of the season."

Bailey will have to show no ill effects from the mound session before he gets the green light to pitch on Sunday. He wasn't ready to say he was relieved that the injury scare was behind him.

"It will be more of a relief once it's over and we have a better idea of where it's at," said Bailey, who signed a six-year, $105 million contract last month. "Every day, it's improved a little bit. We've still got a couple of days before we get into game action. Those two days are going to be big."

Helping Bailey is that he's been able to play catch while he was out of action to keep his arm strong. He gradually increased long-toss distances as he felt better.

Mesoraco dealing with strained left oblique

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Reds have endured numerous pitching injuries and now are dealing with one to their starting catcher. Devin Mesoraco is out of action because of a strained left oblique muscle.

"[Thursday] we didn't do anything. Just some ice and let it calm down a little bit," Mesoraco said. "We're going to start working on it a little bit just to see where I'm at here today and tomorrow and go from there."

Mesoraco said he felt something while swinging in the cage a couple of days ago.

"It was just real minor and I just took a second," Mesoraco said. "I kept trying to swing and kept going and it didn't bother me at all. I came in and sat down and cooled down and went back out. I could just tell that it wasn't quite right. So I kind of shut it down before I did anything to really aggravate it."

Reds relieved following Chapman's surgery

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There was a level of relief for the Reds after closer Aroldis Chapman had surgery Thursday evening to repair the fractures sustained when he was hit in the face by a line drive.

Chapman, who had fractures above the left eye and nose after being hit by a Salvador Perez line drive on Wednesday, could begin working out in 10-14 days and may be ready to pitch in game conditions in four to six weeks.

"It certainly is better than expected," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "You always fear the worst-case scenario in that situation. It was a very traumatic experience for Aroldis and the rest of us. We're happy that our doctors are so optimistic the surgery went well and he should be back on the field relatively quickly considering."

Chapman posted two pictures from the hospital on his Instagram account. One of them showed him in bed making a peace sign. The other, which was more graphic, was an up-close photo of the staples that dotted his head from the surgery.

Worth noting

Former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and college basketball coaching great Bob Knight visited Reds camp on Friday. La Russa, who now works for Major League Baseball, and Knight, an ESPN analyst, spoke to the players about helping with a program that helps educate enlisted soldiers and their families.

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.